Advice for a newbie - what would you do?

[Jodie Steen]

Hello, BiggerPockets members!  This is my first post, and I'm hoping some member with more experience than me will weigh in : )

My husband and I house hacked in Brooklyn (I didn't even know what that was until I found BiggerPockets, but we did it).  We bought 6 years ago and now we are sitting on a lot of equity - about 1.4 million.  I'm trying to figure out how to put that money to work for us.  One option is long distance real estate investing.  I'm thinking of a better performing market for buy and hold, small multifamily. 

The other option would be building an addition on our existing home, and turn the one bedroom rental into a two bedroom, perhaps making it an Airbnb rental.  (This is legal in our area because of our building class).  That would also allow for a large master kitchen in our triplex.  Our neighbors Airbnb their 2 bedroom on our block and make about $5k per month as a reference point.

Any ideas as to how to access equity or how to start are welcome and appreciated.  Thank you!

[Travis Rasmussen]

@Jodie Steen

Hmm, this is a tough call. I am a Superhost and manage properties out of state (I'm in California and I typically invest in Florida). 

First off, you're doing great by making sure IT'S LEGAL. That is by far what I tell everyone first, you don't want to put money into an investment which is, well, illegal on it's jurisdiction. 

If I understand correctly, you have a triplex and each room is a 1 bed/1 bath?

To comment about the six weeks a year you are out of your house: while we do have out of state rentals, we Airbnb the extra rooms in our own house. Personally, I would never Airbnb our entire house while gone.

2 big reasons for that

First, the people that stay in your house when they are renting your a room (and not the whole house) tend to be a LOT more respectful than people that KNOW you aren't there. The people that stay in the extra rooms in our house are always nice, courteous and respectful. The people that stay in our condo out of state tend to be more disrespectful, messier, and rougher on the property. I wouldn't want that in my primary house.

The second is just logistical, I wouldn't want to have my personal stuff around if someone was going to stay in my room and I would hate to move everything out for just a couple weeks a year and have to move back in after.

If you do decide to go out of state, let me know. I also made a quick 101 for people looking to start hosting, if you want it, send me a DM.